Hi folksThe title sounds a bit vague I know. I have a Ryobi 10” table saw but the mitre gauge slots are less than the normal 3/4” width and I am thinking of getting an Incra 1000se mitre gauge for my segmented turning work. Two possibilities 1- get a new saw bench, 2- cheaper option, wondered if its possible to to make a 1” ply top to bolt onto the existing alloy saw bench top but with a 3/4” channel fitted into it and parallel with the blade so I can use the Incra albeit losing 1” height of the blade?RegardsSteve

2 replies so far

it’s doable if you’re trying to save a buck yeah. consider the fact that many use a cross cutting sled, which in reality is similar to your idea -it’s a large ply on top of the table top. but it’ll have it’s limitations:

1. as stated – you’ll lose 1” of cutting capacity2. unlike a sled where the entire sled is moveable, and the wood is stationary on top of it -in this scenario, you’ll want to move your wood on the “sled” wooden surface, and might run into friction issues3. your wooden top might run into bowing/flexing, which will make in unsafe to use the table saw.4. you’ll use the ability to use your fence… unless you modify it to work with the new wood top (and again – you’ll have friction issues though).

I’d go with option 1. especially if you’re into woodworking for the long run

good luck :o)

edit: I meant option one – save for a better saw.

one more thing you can do – which for the time being be better than option 2, and cheaper than option 1 – would be to build a dedicated cross cutting sled that will fit those undersized miter slots in your tablesaw – will give you a perfect fit, and better performance than an Incra miter gauge (if you do it right) also will give you safer cross cuts than a miter guage

I’ve got a 1973 Sears table saw with a narrow slot, a bench dog feather board doesn’t fit, but a Incra 1000se does. I ordered it & didn’t know about the miter slot variances. The incra is adjustable somewhat. Look at the website, it will tell you how much.